Verstappen clears the air with Lawson, but keeps opinion on Racing Bulls F1 seat to himself

Max Verstappen qualified fourth for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, but will have to drop one place on the starting grid, meaning he will start from the third row. The reason is remarkable, to say the least: contact with Liam Lawson - two drivers from the Red Bull teams during the second free practice session.

Verstappen was rather outspoken in the media pen on Friday, saying, among other things, that he had "no idea what went through Liam's head" and that he did not consider it "very smart behaviour" from someone who is still fighting for his seat for the 2027 F1 season.

At that point, it appeared that the incident would have relatively minor consequences, making the grid penalty subsequently handed out all the more surprising.

"How do I see the penalty? Well, it's a bit like when you watch other sports and sometimes see decisions being made. You can agree or disagree with them," Verstappen said. "Of course, I have my own opinion on it, but I've already said everything that I wanted to say about it – internally as well."

One aspect of the FIA stewards' document stood out: the passage explaining that such an incident would normally result in a warning, but that the stewards wanted to set an example this time.

This was partly because the subject had been discussed in the team managers' meeting and partly because, following previous practice incidents, the stewards felt it was time to put a stop to such behaviour.

Asked by Autosport whether Verstappen was surprised that the stewards had used him to set an example, he responded during his Dutch media session in the paddock: "No, that doesn't surprise me, because it's happened more often in the past – with other things as well. But yeah, that's just how it is. There's nothing you can do about it. Look, if they think this is already worthy of a penalty, then it's worthy of a penalty..."

Asked whether he feels he is often singled out by the stewards to set an example, the Dutchman replied: "I don't want to say too much about that. It is what it is."

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images

Lawson apologises to Verstappen

On Saturday morning, Verstappen sat down with Lawson to clear the air, which, according to the latter, they managed to do.

"Obviously, it's not ideal and something that should never happen in practice," Lawson reflected a day after the incident. "I went to see Max this morning to apologise, because obviously it was never my intention to make contact. It’s not good for both of us, I'll learn from it going forward."

Asked by Autosport whether he had been surprised by Verstappen's strong words on Friday, the New Zealander responded: "I think that’s all cleared up as well now. Obviously I didn't do media yesterday, but when you come in straight from a session, there's still adrenaline.

"Ultimately only Max knows how he feels, but, like I said, it was never my intention to have contact, so apologies for that."

At least as interesting was the moment during the Dutch media session when Verstappen was asked who, in his view, deserves the Racing Bulls seat for 2027: Lawson or Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov?

Without the frustration of the previous day and without the adrenaline Lawson had referred to, Verstappen still stopped short of unequivocally backing his former team-mate.

"That's always a bit of a problem, of course, when you have a lot of talented drivers and one of them starts doing really well at a certain point," he said. "Are you going to give that driver a chance or not? I'll leave that to the team."

Asked for his personal opinion on the matter, Verstappen indicated that he certainly had one, but preferred to keep it to himself: "Yeah, I don't need to say that."

Meanwhile, Lawson is still waiting for a decision, as he repeated after qualifying in Mexico. Asked how confident he was of remaining on the Formula 1 grid next year, he concluded: "Formula 1's a tough sport, so I'm trying to do my best at the moment, trying to score in every race that I can, but I don't make that decision."